India’s obsession with having a deep batting lineup forced them to exclude Arshdeep Singh in their opening Asia Cup clash against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It came as a huge surprise considering Arshdeep is India’s highest wicket-taker in T20 internationals. With 99 scalps, he was just one wicket away from entering the history books. Regardless, India wanted more batting and thus included Shivam Dube.
Why India backed Dube over Arshdeep
The gamble meant that Dube had to step up with the ball, especially since India fielded only two other frontline pace-bowling options in Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. And against the UAE, he ultimately did. Dube, who made a name for himself for his all-round exploits in the domestic circuit, has moulded himself into a spin-basher in the shortest format.
His bowling has never been fully nurtured as well, especially after the ‘Impact Player’ rule in the IPL. For most of his career, Dube’s bowling has been underutilized. His franchise, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has seldom needed his services as a bowler. But the current Indian T20I team needs considering Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya would be the only two pace-bowling options.
Evolution of Dube, the bowler
And gladly, Dube responded with a career-best figure (3/4) in Dubai. He has worked with India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel from close quarters, and he carried the confidence as well. Now, the Indian management is going full throttle on Dube’s bowling prowess. He may not be someone like Pandya, who can clock 140kmph, Dube can be a handful if he adds more variety to his medium-pace bowling. It would be wonderful if Dube stuck to a disciplined line and length and varied his pace.
Having said that, Dube was recently told to bowl bouncers. According to Revsportz, the management told Dube to use every ounce of his energy in bowling shorter deliveries and prepare him for the match. It would be interesting if Dube adds bouncers to his sleeves as well. The right-arm pacer can help Bumrah and Dube as far as pace-bowling duties are concerned. If he continues to deliver spells like the one against UAE, India could finally have a reliable seam-bowling all-rounder to balance the side in crunch fixtures.
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